Dear W3C Patent Policy Working Group:
This meeting has recently been brought to my attention and
I'm concerned about the recent Patent Policy Framework draft, which
could allow W3C members to charge royalty fees for technologies
included in web standards.
In particular, I object to the inclusion of a "reasonable and
non-discriminatory" (RAND) licensing option in the proposed policy.
I believe that the exclusive use of a "royalty-free" (RF) licensing
model is in the best interests of the Internet community, and that
RAND licensing would always necessarily exclude some would-be
implementers, especially among open source and free software
developers. I feel this will place limits on the overall function and
availability of some of the features of the internet. Eventually slowing
the technical growth by placing limits on who can afford to use and improve
certain applications and protocols. This should be open to all willing
to venture into and not simply available to those who can afford to do so.
I applaud the W3C for its tradition of providing open-source
reference implementations and its work to promote a wide variety of
interoperable implementations of its open standards. The W3C can
best continue its work of "leading the Web to its full potential"
by continuing this tradition, and saying no to RAND licensing.
Sincerely,
Gerald Albitre
1509 Galina Ct
Bakersfield, Ca 93307